Appliance Repair Technician Salary: BLS Median Pay by State
Half of home appliance repairers earned more than $50,990 a year and half earned less, per the May 2025 BLS OEWS release. State medians in this guide run from $35,890 to $70,750.
$50,990
Median annual wage
Home Appliance Repairers, May 2025 OEWS
$24.51
Median hourly wage
Official OEWS hourly median
2.6%
Projected growth, 2024–2034
all occupations: 3.1%
32,150
OEWS employment, May 2025
wage and salary workers
Wage figures are medians for Home Appliance Repairers (SOC 49-9031). May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026; reviewed July 2026. The OEWS mean is $56,040 per year ($26.94 per hour), which is a different statistic from the median.
Home appliance repairers diagnose and repair household equipment such as refrigerators, ranges, dishwashers, washers, and dryers, either in customers' homes or in a shop. BLS reports them under SOC 49-9031. The May 2025 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics release put the median annual wage at $50,990, or $24.51 an hour, across 32,150 wage and salary workers, which makes this one of the smaller occupations covered in these guides. The median is the midpoint of the wage distribution, so half of that group earned more and half earned less; the arithmetic mean was $56,040 a year. State medians in this guide range from $35,890 in Mississippi to $70,750 in Massachusetts, a wide spread for an occupation of this size. On employment, BLS projects a rise from 37,300 in 2024 to 38,300 in 2034, a net increase of 1,000 positions and growth of 2.6%, which is below the 3.1% projected for all occupations, alongside an average of 3,100 openings a year. This guide reports those published figures without smoothing over the below-average projection.
Appliance Repair Technician wage benchmark lookup
Look up the official BLS median wage for Home Appliance Repairers nationally or in a listed state. This is a published benchmark, not a personalized salary estimate, and it applies no adjustment for experience, employer, or credentials.
Only states with a published OEWS median for this occupation are listed.
Median annual wage, United States (national)
$50,990/year
Median hourly wage: $24.51/hr
Source: May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026; reviewed July 2026. Half of home appliance repairers in this area earned more than this amount and half earned less. OEWS covers wage and salary workers. It excludes self-employed people and owners or partners of unincorporated firms, so it does not measure owner earnings, draws, or business profit.
Appliance Repair Technician median wages by state
Across the 21 states listed here, the May 2025 OEWS median for Home Appliance Repairers runs from $35,890 in Mississippi to $70,750 in Massachusetts. Both the annual and hourly columns are published medians; neither is derived from the other.
States with the highest median pay
| State | Median annual | Median hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts | $70,750 | $34.02/hr |
| New York | $65,190 | $31.34/hr |
| Connecticut | $62,380 | $29.99/hr |
| Virginia | $59,820 | $28.76/hr |
| California | $58,480 | $28.12/hr |
| Hawaii | $58,300 | $28.03/hr |
| Washington | $58,110 | $27.94/hr |
States with the lowest median pay
| State | Median annual | Median hourly |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee | $49,580 | $23.84/hr |
| Georgia | $49,500 | $23.80/hr |
| Texas | $48,630 | $23.38/hr |
| Ohio | $47,300 | $22.74/hr |
| North Carolina | $47,270 | $22.73/hr |
| Arkansas | $38,680 | $18.60/hr |
| Mississippi | $35,890 | $17.25/hr |
Career path and progression
What the work involves at each stage. BLS publishes wages for the occupation as a whole, not by years of experience or license tier, so no pay figures are shown here.
Trainee technician
Rides along or works in the shop learning appliance construction, electrical safety, parts identification, and warranty paperwork before running calls alone.
Service technician
Runs a route independently, diagnoses electrical, mechanical, and control faults across major brands, and manages parts ordering to keep first-visit completion high.
Sealed system technician
Works on refrigeration circuits in refrigerators and freezers, which requires the federal refrigerant credential and additional diagnostic skill.
Lead technician or service manager
Supports other technicians on difficult diagnoses, manages warranty relationships and parts inventory, and handles scheduling and quality across a service area.
Specialties and work settings
Home Appliance Repairers is a single BLS occupation, so the published wage data does not break out these specialties. They are described here for career planning only.
Laundry appliances
Washers and dryers, where fault patterns are well understood and parts availability supports fast turnaround.
Cooking appliances
Ranges, cooktops, wall ovens, and microwaves, spanning gas and electric work and requiring care around fuel and high-voltage circuits.
Refrigeration and sealed systems
Refrigerators, freezers, and ice makers. Work on the sealed refrigerant circuit is governed by the federal refrigerant handling rules.
Dishwashers and disposals
Repairs that overlap with plumbing connections, drainage, and water supply components.
Connected appliances
Network-enabled machines whose diagnostics involve firmware, app pairing, and control board communication alongside mechanical inspection.
Warranty and authorized service
Work performed under manufacturer authorization, with defined labor rates, claim procedures, and parts sourcing rules set by the brand.
Licenses and credentials in this trade
There is no national license for appliance repair. The one federal requirement applies to refrigerant handling. Manufacturer authorizations are commercial agreements rather than public credentials, and BLS does not publish a wage premium for any of these.
| Credential | Full name | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| EPA 608 | EPA Section 608 Technician Certification | Required under Section 608 of the Clean Air Act before a technician may maintain, service, repair, or dispose of equipment that could release regulated refrigerants, which covers sealed system work on refrigerators and freezers. |
| NASTeC | NASTeC appliance service technician certification | A voluntary industry credential assessing diagnostic and repair knowledge across major household appliance categories. |
| Manufacturer authorization | Brand authorized servicer training programs | Brand-specific training and authorization agreements that determine eligibility to perform in-warranty work and to buy parts through the manufacturer's channel. Terms are set by each brand. |
| Gas appliance training | Gas appliance service training | Training on gas supply, ignition, and combustion safety for ranges and dryers. Some jurisdictions additionally regulate who may connect gas appliances. |
| OSHA 10 | OSHA 10-Hour Outreach Training | Voluntary safety outreach training on workplace hazards. It is a training course rather than a credential OSHA issues, and commercial property clients sometimes ask for it before site access. |
Appliance Repair Technician pay compared with related occupations
Every row is a single BLS detailed occupation with its own SOC code, May 2025 OEWS medians, and 2024–2034 projected growth. Rows are not adjusted for hours, region, or self-employment.
| Occupation | Median annual | Median hourly | Growth 2024–2034 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appliance repairerThis guideHome Appliance Repairers | $50,990 | $24.51 | 2.6% |
| HVACR technicianHeating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers | $61,010 | $29.33 | 8.1% |
| General maintenance workerMaintenance and Repair Workers, General | $49,590 | $23.84 | 3.8% |
| Industrial equipment repairerElectrical and Electronics Repairers, Commercial and Industrial Equipment | $74,090 | $35.62 | -0.8% |
| Automotive technicianAutomotive Service Technicians and Mechanics | $50,620 | $24.34 | 4.2% |
| ElectricianElectricians | $63,190 | $30.38 | 9.5% |
| Plumber and pipefitterPlumbers, Pipefitters, and Steamfitters | $63,800 | $30.67 | 4.5% |
Employment projections, 2024–2034
Projection figures come from the BLS National Employment Matrix for Home Appliance Repairers. They use a broader employment concept than the OEWS wage-and-salary count above, so the two employment figures are not interchangeable.
37,300
Employment, 2024
National Employment Matrix base year
38,300
Projected employment, 2034
National Employment Matrix projection
+1,000
Net employment change, 2024–2034
BLS published net change
2.6%
Projected growth, 2024–2034
percent change in employment
3,100
Average annual openings, 2024–2034
includes growth plus separations
3.1%
All occupations, 2024–2034
benchmark growth rate
BLS projects 2.6% employment growth for this occupation from 2024 to 2034, below the 3.1% BLS projects for all occupations.
This is the slowest-growing occupation among the guides in this set. BLS projects employment of home appliance repairers to rise from 37,300 in 2024 to 38,300 in 2034, a net increase of 1,000 positions and growth of 2.6%, which sits below the 3.1% projected for all occupations. The more useful number for anyone entering the trade is the 3,100 openings BLS projects each year, most of which come from workers retiring or moving into other occupations rather than from net growth. BLS does not publish a breakdown of the projection by driver, so this guide does not attribute any share of it to appliance prices, connected appliances, or repair-versus-replace behavior.
Methodology and sources
- Occupation:
- Home Appliance Repairers (SOC 49-9031)
- Wage source:
- May 2025 OEWS estimates, released May 15, 2026; reviewed July 2026.
- Projection source:
- BLS Employment Projections and National Employment Matrix, 2024–2034, released August 28, 2025.
- Median vs mean:
- The median is the midpoint of the wage distribution. The mean is the arithmetic average and is usually higher. Headline figures on this page are medians.
- Scope:
- OEWS covers wage and salary workers. It excludes self-employed people and owners or partners of unincorporated firms, so it does not measure owner earnings, draws, or business profit.
- Occupation scope:
- The occupation covers household appliance repair. Commercial kitchen and refrigeration equipment work is largely reported under other occupations, including Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers (49-9021), so it is not reflected in these wages. This is also a small occupation, which makes state estimates more sensitive to sampling than in the larger trades.
- Note:
- All wage figures are the 49-9031 rows of the May 2025 OEWS national and state cross-industry files. All projection figures are the 49-9031 row of the BLS 2024-2034 occupational projections table.
- Note:
- With 32,150 workers nationally, this occupation is small enough that individual state medians rest on modest sample sizes. Treat single-state comparisons with more caution than in the larger trades.
- Coverage caveat:
- State tables list only the states with a published OEWS median for this occupation. BLS suppresses estimates that do not meet its disclosure or reliability standards, and published employment levels are rounded, so a published net change can differ slightly from the difference between the rounded 2024 and 2034 levels.
- Last reviewed:
- July 2026
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about home appliance repairers pay, answered from the published data.
The May 2025 BLS OEWS median annual wage for home appliance repairers was $50,990, or $24.51 an hour. Half of workers in the occupation earned more and half earned less. The separate arithmetic mean was $56,040 a year.
The published median hourly wage was $24.51 and the mean hourly wage was $26.94. The median is the better answer to what a typical employed technician earns.
Among the states in this guide, the highest May 2025 OEWS annual medians were Massachusetts at $70,750, New York at $65,190, Connecticut at $62,380, Virginia at $59,820, and California at $58,480. Because the occupation is small, state estimates rest on modest samples and should be read with that in mind.
BLS projects 2.6% growth between 2024 and 2034, from 37,300 to 38,300 positions. That is below the 3.1% projected for all occupations. The projection still implies an average of 3,100 openings a year, most of them from workers leaving the occupation rather than from net growth.
Yes for sealed system work. Section 608 of the Clean Air Act requires EPA technician certification before a person may maintain, service, repair, or dispose of equipment that could release regulated refrigerants, which includes refrigerators, freezers, and ice makers.
There is no national license for appliance repair. Beyond the federal refrigerant requirement, obligations depend on the jurisdiction and on the work involved, and some places regulate gas appliance connections separately. Check the state and local authority where you plan to work.
No. OEWS publishes wage percentiles for home appliance repairers as a whole. It does not break wages out by appliance category, by manufacturer authorization, or by years of experience, so no dollar figure is attached to those here.
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